


In sickness and in health

by sugarandspace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Caring Alec Lightwood, Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Sickfic, Supernatural Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25635001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Alec's workday gets interrupted by Catarina, who tells him that Magnus has fallen sick.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 10
Kudos: 135
Collections: Fluff vs. Angst Battle 2020





	In sickness and in health

**Author's Note:**

> My fic for #TeamFluff! This was supposed to be softer but I think it still counts as fluff? I'm sorry I can't help my desire to write hurt/comfort :D

“Hey, I thought you were still working?”

Alec hadn’t expected a call from Magnus until much later, but seeing his name light up his phone had been a nice surprise and a much-needed break from all the boring paperwork he had been occupying himself with. He had actually been done with all the urgent things he needed to get done but had decided to stay at the Institute for a moment longer. After all, the reports he had been going through worked as a good distraction while Magnus was working late.

“Alec.”

The voice he hears does not belong to his husband, and it makes dread crawl up Alec’s spine.

“Catarina?” He asks, standing up from his desk. He’s already gathering his things when he asks, “Is everything okay?”

“Everything _will be_ okay,” she says, which does little to calm Alec’s racing heart. Catarina’s voice is calm, but Alec is sure it’s a skill she’s mastered after all the time she’s spent healing people.

“But it’s not right now?” Alec presses even though he knows the answer. It can’t be, if Cat is calling him from Magnus’ phone.

“Magnus is sick,” she tells him. “And he’s been asking for you. I was wondering if you were finished with work?”

“Can you create a portal for me?” Alec asks, answering her question. All the papers on his desk are left where they are when his mind is focused on a more pressing matter. It doesn’t matter if all Magnus has is a mild flu, if he’s asking for Alec, Alec will be there. Although knowing his husband and how bad he is at asking for things, Alec fears the situation that waits for him at home is a lot more serious. 

“I’m at my office,” he tells Catarina and a second later a portal appears in front of him. “Thank you.”

Alec ends the call and steps into the portal that takes him home, more specifically to their living room where he’s greeted by a sight of Magnus on the couch with Catarina sitting on the arm of it, wiping sweat from his forehead with a towel.

Magnus looks to be shaking under a blanket, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. He doesn’t even react to the portal appearing a few feet away from him.

“What’s happening?” Alec asks as he kneels next to the couch and looks at Cat, his hands hovering above Magnus, afraid to touch in case he would just cause harm.

“It’s a warlock illness, much like a mundane flu, but it infects our magic and therefore feels a lot stronger. He’s had it before, but this case seems to be particularly bad. He can feel it in his very core and everywhere his magic is,” Cat explained. Then she continued, “You can touch him, it’s not something you can catch.”

“I wasn’t worried about that,” Alec says quietly and brings his hand up to brush through Magnus’ hair. It lays flat against his head and his face is free of makeup, and a look that usually makes Alec’s heart melt is now tainted by the sweat and the agonized look on Magnus' face.

Magnus’ eyes open when he feels the touch. The look in his unglamoured eyes is hazy and it seems like he’s not fully in this world until his eyes eventually focus on Alec.

“Alec,” he says before his eyes fall closed again and he leans into the touch.

“I’m here,” Alec says and kisses Magnus’ forehead, grimacing a little when he feels how hot his skin is under his lips. He looks at Catarina again. “Is there anything we can do?”

“I’m afraid there’s not much,” Catarina says. “It’s an illness that specifically targets warlocks, so it has mutated in a way that it can’t be healed or treated with a magic of any kind. Spells and potions would only make him sicker.”

Alec frowns.

“There must be something.”

“You can try your best to make him feel comfortable, and make sure he eats and drinks,” Catarina says. “And make sure he lets himself fully heal before he attempts to use his magic again. We don’t want a repeat of 1894.”

Alec doesn’t ask what happened in 1894, but the serious expression on Catarina’s face makes him trust that they don’t want it to happen again.

He nods.

“How do I know when he’s fully healed?” Alec asks, wanting to know all he can so he can do what’s best for Magnus. 

Catarina gestures to the coffee table, where an array of things used to treat a mundane flu lie. Among them is a thermometer that she picks up and shows him.

“Monitor his temperature. That should be a pretty good indicator of how he’s doing. If it rises above 104, I want you to call me,” Catarina says. “Same if he starts feeling worse, if he starts throwing up, or gets unresponsive.”

Alec nods along to the instructions, memorising them all. “Okay.”

“I’m going to leave,” Catarina says, standing up and straightening her clothes. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on him. If at any time you feel like he’s getting worse, or feel unsure about something, call me. I’m just a portal away.”

“I will,” Alec promises. “Thank you.”

Catarina brushes her hand through Magnus’ hair one more time.

“Get better soon my friend,” she says, getting barely any response from Magnus. With that she portals away.

Alec takes a few deep breaths as he looks at Magnus. Seeing him so sick scares him, but he knows Catarina wouldn’t have left him alone with Magnus if there was a risk of things going bad quickly. It’s just so rare, to see Magnus like this. Alec knows it doesn’t help that the memories he has of similar situations are back in the forefront of his mind at seeing Magnus like this, so vulnerable.

Alec pushes those thoughts away, and focuses on the moment, and what he can do to make Magnus feel as comfortable as possible. 

-.-.-

It takes two days of barely responsive Magnus until the symptoms start to lessen.

They are once again in the living room, where Magnus had wanted to relocate after claiming that as much as he liked to spend time with Alec in bed, he’d started to get bored of the same four walls. It had been nice to see some of that twinkle come back to his eyes because it was one of the signs that Magnus was getting better.

When his temperature had gone down - not yet to its normal levels, but no longer life-threatening either - Alec had drawn him a bath, and now they are on the couch and the old gramophone is playing background music to them as Magnus lays with his head of Alec’s lap while Alec is sitting on the corner of their large couch, resting against the back of it.

While one of Alec’s hands keeps brushing through Magnus’ hair, his other hand moves up and down Magnus’ back, hoping to help warm him up. Even under the thick blanket, Magnus keeps occasionally shivering.

Magnus lets out a soft hum at the movement.

“Does it help you feel warm?” Alec asks quietly.

“No,” Magnus mumbles and opens his eyes to look at Alec.

Alec slumps against the back of the couch, frustrated at how little he can do to make Magnus feel better. He’s not the most patient person, even less so when people he cares about are suffering. 

“But keep doing it,” Magnus says and closes his eyes again, sighing as he gets more comfortable against the soft fabric of Alec’s sweatpants. “It feels nice.”

Magnus’ words bring a small smile to Alec’s lips. He might not be able to fix the situation and to make Magnus feel healthy again, but he can be there for him. 

And so Alec's hand keeps brushing against Magnus’ back, the other continuing its slow massage against Magnus’ scalp, while Magnus doses off in his lap.

Alec realises that it’s not always about fixing the whole situation, but about doing what he can. All that matters is that Magnus is getting better, even if the progress is slow.

Alec will be there for him every step on the way.

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaaand as always, you can find me from [tumblr](https://sugarandspace.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/sugarandspace_)!


End file.
